The thrill of steeps and cornices

[pinto]

I actually do get the thrill of air. Used to, anyway.

It's what comes before (butterfly) and after (speed) the air that are now in question.

So I always at any angle to check speed. But air, that's fun!

Well, that's the appeal of steeps, too. You still get that feeling, albeit not totally the same, and your feet are still on the ground.

 

[pinto]

Are they Kastle skis on the photo?

yes, the two on the left are MX83s

 

[abc]

Well, that's the appeal of steeps, too. You still get that feeling, albeit not totally the same, and your feet are still on the ground.

well, I guess I'm missing that link. ;)

I like the carefree moment of air, albeit only a second or two. And with (known) soft landing, there's no need to worry.

I once had a sweatshirt that reads "To Air is Human"

 

[bounceswoosh]

For me, the thrill of the jump itself is that moment where your gut kind of feels like it's falling while your body is rising. I don't actually get that with most ski jumps; more with my mountain bike. And I can get that feeling without getting any air at all, just an unweighting.

But when I'm going off a cornice, I'm not actually jumping (yet?); I'm just sliding off the snow with a steep enough drop off that there's a gap beneath my skis. The thrill is still that of steeps - ie, frisson of fear, followed by commitment, followed by exhilaration.

@abc , you're definitely more comfortable with air than I am. I have chickened out of more tiny tiny drops than I can count.

 

[abc]

@abc , you're definitely more comfortable with air than I am. I have chickened out of more tiny tiny drops than I can count.

that might have to do with the days of my youth...

I was a jumper in the track team, long jump and high jump. And I also play basket ball and badminton competitively. All of them involves getting as much air time as possible and DO SOMETHING WHILE IN AIR.

So I have less fear of air and feel confident I can control landing. Well, up to a point, that is.

Still, I love air on skis because it gets me A LOT MORE air than just jumping off my feet alone.

Strangely, I don't feel comfortable getting air on my mtn bike. I prefer to land on my feet.

 

[lynseyf]

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Here's me doing a drop at the weekend at nevis range in Scotland, it wasn't really a cornice as I went in at a place where the cornice had been broken off and so there was no overhang, just a really steep entrance. I find it quite scary when I'm standing with the front of my skis hanging out over nothing but it was a lovely big bowl underneath so even if I fall going in no harm is done.

 

[abc]

it was a lovely big bowl underneath so even if I fall going in no harm is done.

If you go a few inches left or right of that cut, I bet you could get a tiny bit of air to boot! Especially if you carry a little bit of speed.

That is, if you so desire...

 

[snow addict]

If you go a few inches left or right of that cut, I bet you could get a tiny bit of air to boot! Especially if you carry a little bit of speed.

That is, if you so desire...

Cutting cornices and skiing where it was cut is a standard practice for off-piste skiing. There is a desire to take air and there is a desire not to die if it breaks under or over you... Small rocks are better for taking airs than cornices. Much safer.

 

[lynseyf]

If you go a few inches left or right of that cut, I bet you could get a tiny bit of air to boot! Especially if you carry a little bit of speed.

That is, if you so desire...

@abc the very top under the cornice is actually really, really steep, you can kind of get a feeling if you look further round in the pic, the top is the same steepness all the way round, I just went in where the cornice had been cut which still got me a bit of air but any sort of speed or going off where the cornice had been cut would have been a pretty big drop, like 10ft. My boyfriend, who loves getting air and happily drops small cliffs went in at the cut with a bit of speed instead of the uncut cornice, there was no way I was going off it!

 

[lynseyf]

Actually this shows the cornice a little better and where I went in, as always it was waaaaaay steeper in real life ;)

 

[abc]

I just went in where the cornice had been cut which still got me a bit of air

In That case, that would be best already

I don't want anyone got the wrong impression I', some big air dare devil. Not really. I just like a bit of hang time when it's perfectly safe and soft landing.

 

[ZealouslyB]

you're definitely more comfortable with air than I am. I have chickened out of more tiny tiny drops than I can count.

Ditto. Where's the clinic to help me get over that!?!? (on the East coast, that is)

 

[abc]

Ditto. Where's the clinic to help me get over that!?!? (on the East coast, that is)

You know what they say, air doesn't hurt, it's the landing that might.

Perhaps a park lesson? To learn to land softly?

That said, if you don't get the thrill of the air time, I wouldn't bother pushing it. It becomes risk without the reward.

For example, I get the thrill of the air time. So I take the opportunity when I have it. But oddly enough, I don't get any rush from speed. So I often resign to be the last in the group to reach the bottom. I just can't get motivated to ski fast. I felt I run a higher risk of crashing into things, and I don't even have a good rush to make it worthwhile.

So if you don't enjoy air, I don't see the point of taking the risk.

 

[ZealouslyB]

I don't particularly like air time but to ski some of the terrain I want to ski- I have to be able to do it. No way around without a small cliff drop or cornice huck. It limits me, and I don't like that. For me it's important be able to ski anything, to take whatever comes my way. There's a freedom in that!

 

[MissySki]

https://www.loonmtn.com/book/camps/droppin-in

 

[bounceswoosh]

I don't particularly like air time but to ski some of the terrain I want to ski- I have to be able to do it. No way around without a small cliff drop or cornice huck. It limits me, and I don't like that. For me it's important be able to ski anything, to take whatever comes my way. There's a freedom in that!

This is exactly how I feel.

 

[abc]

in that case, learning how to land nicely and softly would go a long way to help the confidence level.

I started out in the 'crash and burn' (ok, more trial and error) camp. while enjoyed the air time, that enjoyment was often mixed with a bit of real fear that I might land wrong and get hurt.

So I looked for tips and asked anyone who jump. Fortunately for me, one of the tip I got 'clicked' for me. I then get to enjoy my little half second air freedom whenever I can find it, free of the worry that I used to carry with me.

Those were way back when parks were unheard of and no lesson to learn to do it the right way. Time has changed. There're parks in every mountain. You may even ask your regular lesson instructor if he/she will take the group into the park to learn some skills that are transferable to natural terrain.

 

[MissySki]

in that case, learning how to land nicely and softly would go a long way to help the confidence level.

I started out in the 'crash and burn' (ok, more trial and error) camp. while enjoyed the air time, that enjoyment was often mixed with a bit of real fear that I might land wrong and get hurt.

So I looked for tips and asked anyone who jump. Fortunately for me, one of the tip I got 'clicked' for me. I then get to enjoy my little half second air freedom whenever I can find it, free of the worry that I used to carry with me.

Those were way back when parks were unheard of and no lesson to learn to do it the right way. Time has changed. There're parks in every mountain. You may even ask your regular lesson instructor if he/she will take the group into the park to learn some skills that are transferable to natural terrain.

Depends on the mountain.. At Sunday River the instructors have to have some sort of certification (not sure if it's an official one or something at the mountain or what) to bring students into the park. Like even to just ski down the side and not do any jumps etc., they won't set foot in it. So you'd want to be sure to request that up front.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Depends on the mountain.. At Sunday River the instructors have to have some sort of certification (not sure if it's an official one or something at the mountain or what) to bring students into the park. Like even to just ski down the side and not do any jumps etc., they won't set foot in it. So you'd want to be sure to request that up front.

Interesting. Umpteen years ago (18 maybe) I took a week of lessons at Sunday River. That's where I landed too far back back off a sizeable (in my memory, it was like 6') jump on my atomic arc 190s, which I didn't belong on in the first place, and my weight swung me around so that I was now sliding down the hill head first, with my feet locked into railroad tracks. I tried to move, but I couldn't. No helmet; I had a fabulous turtle fur purple and black jester hat. When I finally came to a stop, I was not that far from a huge boulder, and the instructor chewed me out - no doubt he was terrified.